Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Schwarzenegger Suggests Sales Tax

Tue, Aug 5, 2008 at 8:26 AM

Seeking to close a budget deficit now reported at $17 billion, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a one-cent increase in the state's sales tax. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the tax would last for three years and then expire; it also doesn't apply to gasoline. The Dems like it, the Republicans don't. (We're guessing the regressive nature of the tax doesn't need to be pointed out.) The guv also wants long-term fixes for future fiscal crises, including a spending cap and the unilateral authority for the governor to cut spending in the middle of the fiscal year, but he doesn't appear to have bundled all his plans together. Hey, at least it's better than holding 200,000 state workers hostage...